I don't remember from where, but I read something about Nintendo's corporate structure a while back. It's archaic, even by Japan's strictest standards. Only the higher-ups really get to decide anything, and those higher-ups are the ones who have been around the longest. They're unfamiliar with the way the industry works nowadays, which explains why American companies have gained such an edge over them recently.

Nintendo's been making a bit of progress, but this is a huge step back. Unfortunately the way the company works this might not change unless Iwata and Miyamoto go on a vision quest and have an epiphany and smell all the colors of modern communications.

I don't know how any of you ever could have played this game without knowing that! It was such a lifesaver before I could beat SMB easily. As for SMB2... seriously. How could any of you have played that.

OOT3D's gyroscope controls were probably the best controls I'd ever used in any video game. I could 360 no scope a bat from a mile away, when I normally can't play from a first-person shooting perspective at all.

And I can use gyro controls with the 3D on with no problem. Just move your head a little.

@hcfwesker Right, so... Much of the "challenge" of Majora's Mask was to rush through the 3-day cycle, and most of the "obstacles" existed for no reason other than to waste the player's time if they screwed up. Progress is constantly reset, and retaining it (like with Rupees at the bank) often just requires even more mindless, repetitive errands.

There are a lot of acceptable ways to punish a player, but mindlessly wasting their real-world time is not one. That's where the three-day structure needs to be refined. If Aonuma's out to fix that, then this game will be much more enjoyable for most players.

@hcfwesker They're either "dumbing it down" or "no longer requiring a guide to play". There's a big difference. Having events that are so rare to discover on one's own doesn't make a game better or even more challenging--it just makes the game inconvenient because you have to look up what to do next, or waste hours of your life wandering.

This is the only Mario Party game I've played and I really enjoyed it. It's got a lot of little entertaining things for when you just want something to do with your life but don't actually want to do anything. It's very good for that and a lot of the mini-games have stuck with me.

Speaking from an economist's perspective, there's nothing wrong with "scalping" like this. When choosing to keep or sell, you're deciding between having the system and having the money. When choosing to buy or not have, you're deciding between having the system and having the money.

So if you wouldn't buy the system for, say, $300, then that means you'd rather have $300 than the system. Therefore, if you can sell the system for $300, then you should do so.

@leemeyer26 Zing! I haven't played a Shantae game yet but the concept of defeating enemies by belly dancing and whipping my hair around sounds alluring. And this game takes place in Sequin Land? Shut up and take my money.

Even if it doesn't directly alter the way the game is played, these kinds of touches make the experience more enjoyable, just like vivid animations or soundtracks can.

Looking through the Wii U eShop today for the first time in months, I saw almost nothing but garbage shovelware. RCMADIAX (whose games do function properly) said Nintendo has relentless quality checks, but then how do we end up with all of this broken trash?

And at the end of the day, I doubt any of them are profitable. This really boggles my mind.

Definitely the silliest timeline I've ever seen. Takes every generation as its own complete universe and treats Red/Blue/etc. as alternate dimensions from each other. There is a real timeline, and it's nothing like this.

I've always wanted to see this in a video game--music that changes naturally depending on what a player is doing. Awakening did in a way that by blending map and battle music. Ocarina of Time's Hyrule Field had different segments that would be played semi-randomly based on whether the player was moving.

Hopefully in the future we'll look back and scoff at music in video games today: enter an area and just loop some music track until the player leaves.

I don't understand why everyone thinks "USING A MEME = TERRIBLE NON-FUNNY GARBAGE". They're really no different from, say, quoting old episodes of SpongeBob. As long as it's done with context, or tastefully and intentionally without context, they are funny.

YES! My TCG cartridge loses its save data every now and then. As for Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, boy did I love that game until I traded it away. I'll be downloading at least that one, as soon as I get Deluxe Digital Promotion funds from downloading Smash Bros for Wii U.

I think it's a bit ironic how Masuda wants to avoid making a straight-up port, when historically Pokemon remakes have done little more than update game mechanics... But it's a good sign that he's aware of the demand for a new Pokemon Snap.

@russellohh Oh man. I can hardly believe that. I wouldn't expect game designers to know anything about acting, but to be this ignorant and not realize it? This industry just gets worse the more I look at it.

@Einherjar Right, there's no shortage of examples of terrible voice actors, but it's not their fault. It's the disrespectful system they're thrown into.

Even Kid Icarus: Uprising, which has hours of terrific dialogue, has a few really cringe-worthy flops in it. You can tell where the actors weren't given enough of the script or enough time to rehearse, whether alone or together.

Gah... as an actor these practices really get on my nerves. That's incredibly risky, to assume anyone can portray a character accurately with a one-paragraph description, thirty seconds and three takes to rehearse and deliver the lines individually... and without knowing the direction the script and character need to move in.

1. "Naturally, when Nintendo uses third party characters they have to negotiate each time they appear in a new instalment. Presumably Konami said no this time around"No company would EVER say no to getting their character in Smash Bros--it's the very best advertisement in the industry. Snake's creator was waiting to be contacted by Sakurai but that never happened--Snake didn't deserve to return to Smash 4 because the MGS series rarely ever appears on Nintendo systems these days.

2. "However, it should be noted that you can't map movement to the D-pad — that is solely reserved for the Circle Pad."You can't map ANYTHING to the D-pad--not even smash shortcuts, unless I'm missing something. All you can really do is turn tap jumps off.

I love this game--played it all the time when I was a kid. Although even today I can't reach five-star scores on most games and the Museum feature is still barren. Judge, though, I always cheated on by pausing just as the numbers went up.